Commercial & Industrial PV

According to a new report, India’s commercial and industrial sectors will increase their rooftop solar deployments by 47% year-on-year, with bifacials and large-size high-wattage modules offering cost-effective support for reducing electricity costs.

The PV mounting system was developed by Germany-based Goldbeck and will initially be available in the Netherlands from 2022. The company will test the new technology in a 45 MW PV project.

Victorian solar company RACV Solar has continued its expansion strategy with the acquisition of Great Ocean Solar and Electrical, a solar and battery installation business based on the Bellarine Peninsula in the state’s southwest.

The Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, is embracing solar energy as a reliable local energy source. However, its 2 million residents still only have access to electricity for just a few hours per day. Amjad Khashmann reports on damages to installed PV systems and the urgent need for new installations to support education, water, and health care.

Southeast Asia could well become the global engine room of renewable energy expansion. Population and economic growth is expected across the three decades in which the world has to decarbonise, but the brimming bounty of renewables deployment will force developers to navigate the region’s systems. As it turns out, that could be a treacherous task.

Broome, a coastal town on Western Australia’s north, has barely any rooftop solar – though not for lack of interest. In fact, local residents were so hungry to install solar, they exhausted the state government’s 900 kW allocation of additional hosting capacity by mid-morning.

According to Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory Co. Ltd, demand for solar PV in China could “effortlessly” surpass 100 GW in 2022, following a year of “flat” demand in 2021. It adds that a “massive overcapacity” situation in the production sector is looming. Meanwhile, the distributed solar PV market is on track for huge growth, with potential for annual demand to reach upwards of 20 GW+ from next year.

Chinese technology giant Huawei has introduced its series of modular off-grid systems primarily targeting Australia’s agricultural sector, Huawei’s Solution Director, Kenneth Loh, told pv magazine Australia.

The Victorian government has allocated $1.1 million in funding to Indigenous groups to determine how they want to be part of Victoria’s renewable energy boom. Fortescue has likewise awarded $350 million to a majority-owned Aboriginal business in Western Australia, its single largest contract under its Billion Opportunities program.

Romande Energie and Swiss research institute Agroscope are testing startup Insolight’s transparent PV panels in an agrivoltaic project. The modules are replacing the plastic covers used to grow strawberries and raspberries.